CCLI license #1913561
Lakeview Presbyterian Church Service of the Word for January 17, 2021
Martin Luther King Day
Questions for Reflection:
You have been called by God to be a disciple of Jesus; what does that call mean for you? How do you live out that call in this complicated world?
Prelude Of The Father’s Love Begotten” Aurelius Clemens Prudentius (348-413, plainsong) sung by Keisha Prime
Of the Father’s love
begotten
Ere the worlds began to be,
He is Alpha and Omega,
He the Source, the Ending He,
Of the things that are, that have been,
And that future years shall see
Evermore and evermore.
O ye heights of heaven, adore Him;
Angel hosts, His praises sing;
Powers, dominions, bow before Him
And extol our God and King.
Let no tongue on earth be silent,
Every voice in concert ring
Evermore and evermore.
Christ, to Thee, with God the Father,
And, O Holy Ghost, to Thee
Hymn and chant and high thanksgiving
And unending praises be,
Honor, glory, and dominion,
And eternal victory
Evermore and evermore.
OPENING WORDS
The One who calls us together this day yearns for each of us and for all people to hear and be blessed. The One who is above all things calls us to be a holy people, a people set apart to show forth righteousness.
Speak, Lord, for your servants are listening.
OPENING PRAYER
Lord, your love is as wide as the heavens and your faithfulness stretches from sea to sea, but our love is fragile and our faithfulness falters. Your thoughts are too often not our thoughts and your ways not our ways. Create in us clean hearts, O God, and renew a right spirit within us. Amen.
Hymn “ A Mighty Fortress is Our God” Martin Luther, 1529 sung by Keisha Prime
A mighty fortress is our God, a bulwark never failing;
Our helper He, amid the flood of mortal ills prevailing:
For still our ancient foe doth seek to work us woe;
His craft and pow’r are great, and, armed with cruel hate,
On earth is not his equal.
Did we in our own strength confide, our striving would be losing,
Were not the right Man on our side, the Man of God’s own choosing:
Dost ask who that may be? Christ Jesus, it is He;
Lord Sabaoth, His Name, from age to age the same,
And He must win the battle.
And though this world, with devils filled, should threaten to undo us,
We will not fear, for God hath willed His truth to triumph through us;
The Prince of Darkness grim, we tremble not for him;
His rage we can endure, for lo, his doom is sure,
One little word shall fell him.
That word above all earthly pow’rs, no thanks to them, abideth;
The Spirit and the gifts are ours through Him Who with us sideth;
Let goods and kindred go, this mortal life also;
The body they may kill: God’s truth abideth still,
His kingdom is forever.
Prayer for Illumination
By your Holy Spirit, O God, open our ears, our eyes, our hearts, and our minds so that we might hear your call upon us and he strengthened by our presence among us. Amen.
A Reading from the Epistles 1 Corinthians 6: 12, 19—20
"All things are lawful for me," but not all things are beneficial. "All things are lawful for me," but I will not be dominated by anything. . . Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, which you have from God, and that you are not your own? For you were bought with a price; therefore glorify God in your body.
Reading from the Gospels John 1: 43—51
The next day Jesus decided to go to Galilee. He found Philip and said to him, "Follow me."
Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter.
Philip found Nathanael and said to him, "We have found him about whom Moses in the law and also the prophets wrote, Jesus son of Joseph from Nazareth."
Nathanael said to him, "Can anything good come out of Nazareth?"
Philip said to him, "Come and see.
When Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward him, he said of him, "Here is truly an Israelite in whom there is no deceit!"
Nathanael asked him, "Where did you get to know me?"
Jesus answered, "I saw you under the fig tree before Philip called you."
Nathanael replied, "Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!"
Jesus answered, "Do you believe because I told you that I saw you under the fig tree? You will see greater things than these."
And he said to him, "Very truly, I tell you, you will see heaven opened and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of Man."
SERMON “ When to Forgive? ” The Rev. Russell Lehman
MUSIC "O Beautiful for Spacious Skies” Katharine Lee Bates, 1893 sung by Keisha Prime
O beautiful for spacious skies, for amber waves of grain,
For purple mountain majesties above the fruited plain!
America! America! God shed His grace on thee,
And crown thy good with brotherhood from sea to shining sea!
O beautiful for pilgrim feet whose stern impassion'd stress
A thorough fare for freedom beat across the wilderness.
America! America! God mend thine ev'ry flaw,
Confirm thy soul in self-control, Thy liberty in law.
O beautiful for heroes prov'd In liberating strife,
Who more than self their country loved, and mercy more than life.
America! America! May God thy gold refine
Till all success be nobleness, and ev'ry gain divine.
O beautiful for patriot dream that sees beyond the years
Thine alabster cities gleam undimmed by human tears.
America! America! God shed his grace on thee,
And crown thy good with brotherhood from sea to shining sea.
A Statement about Offering our Gifts
Our offerings are a thanksgiving for God’s gifts. Open now your hearts and share so that the church’s work is made strong for the sake of the world.
Donations can be mailed to Lakeview Presbyterian Church at 1310 22nd Av S, St Petersburg, FL, 33705 or given online through our website @lakeviewpresbyterianchurch.org
Special Music "Lift Every Voice and Sing” James Weldon Johnson, 1921 Recorded by Keisha Prime
Lift every voice and sing, till earth and Heaven ring,
Ring with the harmonies of liberty;
Let our rejoicing rise, high as the listening skies,
Let it resound loud as the rolling sea.
Sing a song full of the faith that the dark past has taught us,
Sing a song full of the hope that the present has brought us;
Facing the rising sun of our new day begun,
Let us march on till victory is won.
Stony the road we trod, bitter the chastening rod,
Felt in the days when hope unborn had died;
Yet with a steady beat, have not our weary feet,
Come to the place for which our fathers sighed?
We have come over a way that with tears has been watered,
We have come, treading our path through the blood of the slaughtered;
Out from the gloomy past, till now we stand at last
Where the white gleam of our bright star is cast.
God of our weary years, God of our silent tears,
Thou Who hast brought us thus far on the way;
Thou Who hast by Thy might, led us into the light,
Keep us forever in the path, we pray.
Lest our feet stray from the places, our God, where we met Thee.
Lest our hearts, drunk with the wine of the world, we forget Thee.
Shadowed beneath Thy hand, may we forever stand,
True to our God, true to our native land.
PRAYER OF DEDICATION
Enrich the ministries of your people and make us grateful to be able to let go of the things we do not, finally, own. Amen.
Charge and Blessing
All things are lawful, but not all things are beneficial.
Listen for the word of the Lord as you move through your day.
Trust that the Holy Spirit will guide your choices.
See in each person you meet one for whom Jesus gave his life.
The peace of Christ, crucified and risen for all, go with you this day and always. Amen
Postlude "Go Tell It on the Mountain” John W. Work II (1940 ) sung by Keisha Prime
Go, tell it on the mountain,
over the hills and everywhere.
Go, tell it on the mountain
that Jesus Christ is born.
Go, tell it on the mountain,
over the hills and everywhere.
Go, tell it on the mountain
that Jesus Christ is born.
While shepherds kept their watching
over silent flocks by night,
behold throughout the heavens,
there shone a holy light.
The shepherds feared and trembled
when lo! above the earth
rang out the angel chorus
that hailed our Saviour’s birth.
Down in a lowly manger
our humble Christ was born,
and God sent us salvation,
that blessed Christmas morn.
Go, tell it on the mountain,
over the hills and everywhere.
Go, tell it on the mountain
that Jesus Christ is born.Go, tell it on the mountain,
over the hills and everywhere.
Go, tell it on the mountain
that Jesus Christ is born.
That Jesus Christ is born.
That Jesus Christ is born.
That Jesus Christ is born.